Apologies & Forgiveness
by beMMADfabulous
Summary: Just a snippet of Albus and Minerva's life together. I think you can tell a lot by just reading the title.


**A/N: I'm not as happy with this story as I hoped I would be, but once the idea had taken hold of me, I couldn't get it to let go until I had finished writing! I hope it's not too awful.**

**Apologies & Forgiveness**

"I'm sorry, Minerva."

Minerva shut her eyes tightly, as if bracing herself for a blow. Those words that should have been so comforting did nothing more than ignite a new surge of fire coursing through her veins. She wanted to shout at him, to make him feel anger the way she did. Instead, he responded the way he always had – calmly. Almost coldly, even. For once, she wanted to see Albus show something more in his anger and frustration than a wall of serenity. She knew he had it in him, and she was tired of being the only one who seemed to overreact in moments such as this.

She turned her back to him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"If you're expecting _me _to apologize now," she snapped, "you can forget it."

She sounded childish, she knew, but that didn't matter to her right now. The only thing she felt the least bit sorry for at the moment was that she _wasn't _sorry. She didn't want to fight with her husband, after all, but neither of them were perfect. Albus Dumbledore could be so _frustrating _at times, and Minerva conceded that her stubbornness didn't make it any easier.

Albus released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He wanted to stay and convince Minerva to forgive him, but as of now, he was already late for a meeting with the Order. They needed him; Minerva was independent and would come around when her fury towards him had softened.

She heard movement behind her and felt the warmth of his body as he stepped a mere couple of inches from her back. He didn't touch her, but even with the anger that still consumed her, she found herself wishing he would.

"I have to go," he spoke in a near whisper.

She only lifted her chin in response, her back still turned to him. She listened as his shuffling footsteps moved away towards the open bedroom door. She waited several moments until she thought he was gone before she turned around. When she did, he was still standing in the doorway, his gaze intent upon her. Even in the dim light of the dusky gray evening, his piercing blue eyes managed to twinkle gently at her.

"I love you," he said.

With that, he was gone.

A sudden booming rumble of thunder startled Minerva slightly. She moved quickly through the house to the front door. The outside air was thick with a heavy heat, and the horizon was a blackish purple hue occasionally lit by a web-like strike of lightening. Large drops of rain began splashing down with increasing intensity and speed as lightening bolts drew dangerously nearer to the Dumbledore home. Minerva was not one to be frightened by storms, except when she and Albus were apart. Then, her fear lay in his safety rather than in any consideration of danger to herself.

Despite the gnawing disturbance in the pit of her stomach, Minerva sat down on the couch and tried to read a book to distract her attention from worrying about Albus. She must have read the first line of the novel at least a dozen times before the howling wind and loud thunder claps resigned her to go after him. She tossed the book aside with a sigh and Disapparated with a loud _crack_.

In an instant, Minerva was standing before Number 12 Grimmauld Place as a silver-gray tabby cat, her anger towards Albus all but vanished in place of concern. She scurried up the steps of the house, shaking her fur dry of the cold rain droplets once inside. A man she recognized as Mundungus Fletcher was sneaking around in the front corridor. He looked down at her in surprise, as if caught in a wrongdoing, but when he realized the noise came only from a cat, he shooed at her and made to kick at her with his muddy boot. Minerva stopped in her tracks, pulled herself up to her fullest height, and glared at him through narrowed emerald eyes. Mundungus seemed to suddenly think better of bothering the cat, though he could not explain why. He merely watched her as she proceeded past him with a superior, confident gait.

"Mundungus, we don't have all day!" Molly Weasley called from the door at the end of the hall.

Minerva increased her pace as Molly began to close the door once Mundungus was inside. Another flash of lightening illuminated the corridor, and Molly, noticing Minerva for the first time, paused. Their eyes connected, and Molly's face broke into a smile as she gave Minerva a nod and a wink before granting her entrance into the meeting.

Minerva took her place in a dark corner of the room so that she would not be seen. She felt her tense muscles relax somewhat as she listened to the rise and fall of Albus's voice above the rolling thunder. With the knowledge that Albus was safe and sound, the steady rhythm of the pouring rain tempted to lull Minerva to sleep, but she willed herself to stay awake, even as minutes ticked into hours.

As Molly made another round of refilling teacups and pastry dishes, she cast a sideways glance at Minerva and wondered what it was that brought her here in her Animagus form – in the middle of a treacherous storm, no less. Albus had arrived late to the meeting, appearing to be a bit distressed about something, but he had said nothing of what was troubling him, and Molly had not pressed him on the subject. She wondered if whatever had been bothering him had brought Minerva here as well, as the tabby appeared to be keeping a particularly close eye on the Headmaster.

At long last, the meeting had adjourned. As members of the Order said their goodbyes, Minerva moved quickly towards the door, still careful not to be spotted, and Molly opened it for her with a smile and a twinkle in her eyes. Being the last one in and apparently set on being the first one out, Mundungus slipped past Minerva in the hall. When he saw her, however, he opened the front door for her and patiently waited for her to go ahead of him. He felt quite foolish for catering to an animal, but somehow he felt that he just might reap some sort of punishment if he didn't.

Once outside, Minerva hid herself beside the stairs. Her location offered little solace from the torrential downpour, but at least she would not be seen until she wanted to be.

She waited as each member of the Order exited the house and Disapparated; she was not the least bit surprised that Albus was the last to leave. By now, she was already shivering violently, though she barely took notice of her discomfort.

As soon as Albus began descending the stairs and she made certain that he was alone, Minerva transformed back to her human form. Although she had not made a sound, Albus seemed to sense Minerva's presence, as he turned to face her just as a blinding bolt of electricity lit up the night sky. A boom of thunder that seemed to shake the ground on which they stood followed almost instantly after the flash.

"I thought that you were near," Albus spoke above the pouring rain.

A slight smile tugged at Minerva's lips. Somehow, he had always seemed to know her almost more than she knew herself. She took a deep breath, not entirely sure of how she would be able to explain the reason for her presence. And yet, she knew he would understand.

Minerva walked towards him, her robes heavy from being fully drenched.

"I'm sorry too," she said with a small shrug and a growing grin.

Albus chuckled. No matter how long it took Minerva to forgive him whenever they argued, she always made a point to give the appropriate apology herself so he would know that she no longer held anything against him. It was as if they were starting their relationship anew each time.

A sense of warmth spread through Minerva's body as Albus brushed a loose lock of damp hair from her dewy cheek.

"Let's get you home," he said, his voice warm and inviting.

Minerva nodded and accepted his hand as they prepared to Disapparate.

"I'm sure you'll want to remove those wet clothes..." he went on, turning to her with a playful, cheeky wink, "and maybe later you'll want to put on some dry ones."

**The End**

**A/N: As I like to say, draw your own conclusions. heh**


End file.
